Oshkosh Defense begins full rate production of U.S. Marine Corps' P-19R vehicle

OSHKOSH, Wis. U.S. Marine Corps officials received Milestone C approval for the P-19 Replacement (P-19R) Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle program and gave the greenlight to Oshkosh Defense, LLC - an Oshkosh Corp. company - to begin full rate production on the vehicle.

The contract, originally awarded in May 2013, is worth an estimated $192 million. The company has since completed all required development testing and evaluation.

Oshkosh Defense will deliver 164 P-19R ARFFs through 2019 under this contract. Officials say, the P-19R will replace the P-19A fleet, which was first fielded in 1984.